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Last week, amid a joint address by US President Donald Trump and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, fellow parliamentarian Ayman Odeh and I raised a banner calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. We were forcibly ejected from the legislative session, exposing the weak state of what's often portrayed as the "only democratic state in the Middle East". How can leaders talk about Middle East peace while declining to recognize a population deprived of basic liberties and rights under long-standing military control?

The Reality in the Occupied West Bank

In no place is the deceit more apparent than in the controlled West Bank. There, words of reconciliation seem remote and faint, while the terrifying sounds of settler violence and terror persist loudly. More than 30 incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians have been documented since the announcement of the US peace proposal in September's end, including attacks, theft of crops, and burning of cars and property.

Systematic Aggression During Agricultural Period

The rise in settler terrorism is not coincidental. This time signals the beginning of agricultural harvesting. More than a crucial economic event, it constitutes an important communal and cultural moment that demonstrates resilience under military rule. Precisely for these causes, annually colonists target Palestinians during this precious period. During the last year's agricultural season, rights groups recorded 113 distinct incidents of violence, intimidation, preventing harvesting, or destruction to olive trees and crops by Israeli civilians and military personnel, which occurred on territories belonging to 51 Palestinian communities, municipalities, and communities.

Israeli security forces appeared to have played a greater role in obstructing the olive harvest

Yesh Din also discovered that "Israeli security forces appeared to have had a larger part in hindering the harvesting season". In approximately 70% of instances where entry to farmland was forcibly prevented, soldiers, border guards, and settler civilian security coordinators were actually on site. They either personally prevented Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their property, or neglected to stop settlers who harassed or attacked them.

Political Backing for Colonization

This comes as no surprise, as the head of the settlers' political party, Bezalel Smotrich, was named as an additional minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In one village, for example, a special COGAT unit uprooted private olive trees of Palestinians, citing lack of permits, but ignored infractions by an unauthorized adjacent settler outpost. Last week, the local court decided to stop all building work in the outpost, which was constructed on lands taken by Israel and illegally transferred to settlers.

Takeover Goals and Global Reaction

In the occupied West Bank, colonist violence is nothing but a tool used by the administration to pursue practical incorporation. Recently, Smotrich led a march of thousands of settlers in favor of annexation the West Bank. He was quoted as stating, "We persist to take hold with our presence of the territory with numerous settlers, numerous champions, and countless of settlers who live in this area of the territory ... we need to normalize it and establish it permanently."

The colonists and their backers in the Knesset are explicit about their motives and intentions. Why, then, do government officials in the west hesitate from meaningful penalties and political actions? Smotrich was sanctioned by the UK in the summer, but the impact of the sanction has been limited. He may not be able to go to the United Kingdom and tour the London's entertainment district, but he still maintains the governmental authority to take lands in the West Bank. Remarkably in the declaration of penalties, the British government highlighted they take place "personally" solely.

International Acknowledgment and Reality

If the British administration acknowledges the truth of settler violence and its grave consequences on Palestinian existence, why does it still permit goods from settlements to be marketed in stores and outlets in Britain? If the British leader is serious about acknowledging Palestinian statehood as a state, how come he permit the Israeli government to violate its independence with such aggressive methods? Or was the recognition an empty tactic to shut down dissenting voices in the UK, a hollow act only to be realised in the rebranding of some maps?

Route Toward True Peace

A fair peace must respect the basic rights of the Palestinian people for self-determination, independence, and freedom from occupation and siege. Only when every person's dignity between the Jordan River and sea is respected can we genuinely declare reconciliation has been achieved.

True resolution demands an sovereign Palestinian nation next to the Israeli state: this is the only formula that has agreement among the international community, the Palestinian national movement, and the Israeli peace camp.

The former US president may have applied pressure on the Israeli leader to halt the violence, but he probably only did so because the burden of his relationship with the pariah regime of Netanyahu had become too great. The mass protests throughout the world for the freedom of Palestinian territories, and the unwavering anti-government demonstrations inside Israel, are the actual factors behind this influence.

It is due to this enormous civil movement that a ceasefire has been signed, the hostages freed, and the residents of the territory can experience protection from destruction. Following the truce arrangement has been signed, it is crucial to keep applying this influence. The international community has ignored to the atrocities in Gaza for many years; it must not repeat the same mistake in the West Bank.